


Purgatory

by Pharaoh_Ink



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 10:08:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19082863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pharaoh_Ink/pseuds/Pharaoh_Ink
Summary: It started with a climb.





	Purgatory

You heard stories about the mountain before. People said it was a place where others went to find the will to live. You weren’t sure what that meant, but you wanted to find out.

At first, you had tried to convince a fellow classmate to join you for the hike, but they were too reluctant. Stories their parents had told them, legends handed down for generations- great wars and terrible, fearsome creatures, long since locked away. But those were just stories, weren’t they? You didn’t believe in old fables like that, you were too old. You decided that maybe it was better if you went alone then. Nobody else would come anyway.

You began your journey with a backpack, containing a notebook, to chronicle your adventure and what you found there, as well as water, snacks, bandages if needed to tend to any scrapes, and a few comic books for good measure. After all, once you reached the top, surely it would be a great quiet place for some reading material.

You could see the sun high in the sky, filling every crevice of Mt. Ebott with light. It was a grand sight, and you were filled with something deeper and greater than you knew what to call it.

You had to be back by the time school let out, and so you set forth.

The hike was not as steep as you thought it would be, but it was proving more difficult as time went on. You could feel a bit winded from the climb, and the sun was lower now. You wondered just how high you had climbed so far. It had to have been quite a bit, you could almost make out your school from this view.

You wondered how many other people had made it to the very top. They must have found the will they needed there. Looking down onto the town, seeing how small it really was, the people, even smaller. The wind was the only sound you had to contend with, and your own thoughts.

You hoped you might find what they found, and that way, you’d be able to tell everyone that you climbed Mt. Ebott by yourself, and there weren’t any monsters, and you knew what was really on top of the mountain, and if they wanted to know, they’d have to climb too.

You smiled to yourself, moving to sit down, and let your legs dangle off of a rocky ledge. You uncapped the bottle of water in your pack and began to drink a few mouthfuls, feeling a sense of peace.

You noticed something then, sticking out of one of the rocks. You didn’t think plants could grow way up high here! But sure enough, there one was. A single yellow flower, petals blowing faintly in the wind. You marveled at how beautiful it looked, all the way up here and unknown to the town below. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could come back with something from the mountain? It would prove you made the journey, and you could plant it and fill the entire town with such beautiful flowers.

You moved to stand and approached closer to the flower, noticing a small gap between the ledge and the rock that the flower grew from. You carefully planted a foot against the ground, leaning your body and stretching your arm as far as you could. It was not quite in reach though.

You stretch a little further, dig your shoe into the dirt, and your fingers can just barely curl around the stem, pulling at the flower.

Your fingers suddenly pass through, and in an instant, there is a whipping of air around you.

The flower’s petals blew faintly in the wind.

 

At first, there was nothing.

Then, as you began to feel again, your head was throbbing. Limbs sprawled out. How long had you been lying there? What had happened? Where were you?

Nothing registered though, you could barely lift your head. You couldn’t make out anything in the bright light that hung above you. All you could do was lay there for a while, until things stopped hurting so much.

You could smell something sweet in the air though. Heavy. Like perfume. But it was making your nose itch.

You closed your eyes again.

 

The next time you woke, you could see a bit clearer, but not by much. Your glasses must have fallen somewhere, or perhaps your injury was making your vision worse. Though there was still the present ache in your skull, you could at the very least move again, and you slowly turned onto your side, groaning faintly.

A pile of golden flowers pressed against your face, and you stared, gently batting them away. The last thing you remembered was a flower….and then…

It all went dark.

You tried to sit up, but you were still much too weak. It was then that a very concerned voice rang out, cutting through the silence.

“Golly! Are you okay?”

You flinched, not realizing there could be another voice here. Another person, but where did they come from?

You squinted from the constant stream of light hitting your face, and you held up a hand, shielding it from your eyes. You could not see passed the heaping mound of flowers you were stretched out on, though.

“Gosh, you sure must have fallen a long way down!” The voice continued, and you could not make out where it was coming from.

“You’re hurt, aren’t you?” The voice was sweet and laced with worry, and you could tell it was closer now. Still, you could see nothing in your immediate line of vision.

“Here, let me help you…”

Suddenly, you could feel something shifting between the flowers, and soon, something pressing against your back, wriggling under your arms, your legs.

You could feel yourself being pushed upright once more, until you were sitting, supported by whatever was now holding you.

You winced at the sudden change in position and lifted a hand to rub at your temple, where the throbbing hurt the most. You wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

“There, there…that’s better, isn’t it?”

You nod slowly, taking a moment to take in your surroundings at a better angle. It was then that you realized that the light streaming down onto your face was from the sun.

The sun that was now outside.

You stared up in blurry awe, confused, and then understood, you were looking up at the hole you had fallen from. You were inside the mountain.

Or maybe below it, depending how far you had fallen.

You were so dazed, you’d nearly forgotten the voice of the one who had helped you was still nearby, and you turned to get a better look at them, only to find yourself face to face with a flower….that also had a face.

You stared, not knowing what to think about what you were seeing. And then the flower flashed a big grin.

“Howdy! The name’s Flowey. Flowey the flower!” Your expression must have been priceless, and the flower tilted its head in response.

“What’s wrong? Haven’t you ever seen a talking flower before?”

You think for a moment before shaking your head.

“Well now you have! I suggest you get used to it, because there are a lot of creatures down here, and not all of them are as friendly as I am.”

Creatures? You didn’t understand.

“You’re in the Underground!” The flower continued, wriggling its stem higher out of the dirt, gesturing with a leafy appendage. “It’s where monsters live, since the humans sealed the barrier. You’ve heard of the stories, haven’t you?”

You did, but, weren’t they all-

“Fairy tales?” The flower chuckled then, shaking its head. “I guess for humans, they would be, wouldn’t they? Fairy tales have happy endings, after all…” The flower’s expression shifted for just a moment, before the full smile returned.

“I should let you know how things work down here! Especially since you’re already hurt. You don’t want anyone to take advantage of you while you’re injured, and believe me, it can happen down here.”

You nodded with uncertainty, squinting, and the flower gestured for you to look between the two of you. Floating there in the space above the golden flowers was a simply shaped heart, purple in color, and glowing. You’d never seen something so pretty before, catching the light, and it was then you realized that the dull thump in your chest matched the beats of the heart before you.

That’s-

“That’s yours, yeah!” Flowey beamed. “Neat, huh?~”

“Th-that’s me?”

“Your SOUL, to be more precise.” The flower corrected, beaming. “The culmination of everything you are…and everything you have the power to be. Isn’t it something, to see all of that just…. sitting there?” He looked quite captivated himself, his grin biting down onto his tongue.

“I-I guess so.” You nodded. “I-it’s a little weird though…w-why is it here? Visible I mean…I guess I just…always thought a soul was something that was hidden inside.” You gestured vaguely at your chest.

“Well sure it is!” A vine sprouted up to you, slithering passed your hand to prod at you in the very spot you motioned towards. “It’s still there. But down here, everything comes out.” At your confused expression, the plant giggled. “Silly! There’s nothing that’s truly hidden. Eventually, everything shows itself, their true colors…” The flower’s stem grew taller then, and he wound his way around you, much akin to a serpent sliding through the grass. 

“Intentions…goals…the truth of everyone’s desires…it all comes out eventually. And when you’ve been around for a long time, like me…” His expression shifted again, as if he had a particularly disturbing piece of information he was just dying to spill, “Well!” His cheery giggle bubbled forth again, “You get to know just about everything there is to know!” His pupils seemed to grow larger, more empty…almost…

Hungry.

“And then, you come to realize something…” He stopped encircling, turning away from you.

You swallowed, having a strange feeling, but you were unable to pinpoint what it was, only that it was making that little purple heart in front of you beat harder and faster. You felt the vines around you- not terribly tightened, but there, making their presence well known.

“W-what…?” You ventured to ask, trying to keep your voice as brave as possible.

The flower turned towards you again, and it was definitely not your impaired vision that altered his appearance before you. His grin had turned horrifically wide, cruel, and his eyes were hollow sockets. The voice that was forced out sounded nothing like the pleasant chirp you’d just been listening to, and you could only gape in terror.

“That in THIS world….it’s KILL….or BE KILLED!”

You had tried to back away from the gruesome sight, but it was then that the vines tightened around you and pulled you back.

His deep chuckle sounded amused, and he shook his head, petals bouncing around with his movements. “You humans are all the same, aren’t you? Well…maybe not ALL the same. Some of you put up a better fight. But I have a feeling you’re not gonna be that kind of human…” His expression was haughty, the grip on your limbs dissuading you to give up your escape.

“W-why are you doing this? I-I didn’t mean to fall down here–I was just–just…!”

“Just what?~” He feigned interest. “Oh do tell, I love to hear all the stupid things humans like to say, I mean, after all, these are your last words, y’know, before you DIE.”

“A-an accident!” You squeaked out, squirming against the tight bindings as the flower drew you closer.

“Well isn’t that just unfortunate…? A real cryin’, rotten shame!” He cackled then, his laughter ringing out in an awful, off-tune melody, hysterical.

The warbled mess made you flinch, and you’d never felt more frightened in your life. Just hours ago you’d been home, safe, and now…?

Who would find you?

Who would save you?  
The vines squeezed harder, as if threatening to crush you, and you could see your heart, still vibrant and throbbing, encircled by sharp, white pods.

And in a moment, there was the most agonizing pain you had ever felt in your entire life.

And then...

Darkness.

 

You were determined to make it passed the room of golden flowers.

But determination only brought you so far.

The rest was pure anxiety, which didn’t really do much in the line of progress. At least it filled you with something though, kept your already spinning mind occupied.

You knew you had been here countless times before, and yet somehow, you always woke up back here, as if everything you had done before was a dream, or maybe a reoccurring nightmare.

Either way, it was always the same cycle of waking up to light filtering down onto your face, blurred vision, the retrieval of cracked glasses, and your hand feeling over the bloody patch of hair on the back of your head. Every staggering step that came after that led you down the same familiar corridors. By now, you had to have had the place memorized.

It was this time in particular however, that marked some kind of change and deviation from the usual.

It was that flower- Flowey, oh how could you forget? Not that the name was so simple to remember, but that he had given you his name every single time you encountered him so far. It was the same dialogue, the same introduction.And then you’d died promptly after.

But this time, there were no pods being launched at you, no searing pain, no thorned vine whacking you upside your already cracked skull. This time, the golden flower was scrutinizing you rather closely, silent, and the look on your face must have said a lot more than you could manage.

“…You’re not new here, are you?” Your eyes widened, brows knitted, and you hesitated in your answer. A little variety couldn’t have hurt anymore than your current trend, so you nodded quickly.

To this, the flower merely squinted, seeming to become thoughtful. “I thought so. You have this demeanor…anticipation. You look like someone who knows what to expect.~”

To this, you cracked a nervous grin, rubbing your arm. “It’s usually death.” He nodded, and you couldn’t help but find amusement in how casual the topic of reoccurring death suddenly felt. At least you weren’t entirely crazy though, the talking flower seemed to pick up on things.

Wow, not much relief there.

“Why don’t we just drop the charade then?” The flower spoke, “Loops aren’t any fun, and it’s a waste to have you die up to this point every single time. I think it’d be much more interesting to see you die in different places, and in different ways.” His cheery tone turned a shade of menacing, and a wide grin split his face.

“I was thinking an alternative might also be fun, maybe NOT dying?”

“Well that more or less depends on you, stupid.” He laughed, a vine stretching up from the dirt in front of you, and you automatically flinched, remembering the snapping feeling of it across your head. But no pain came, instead, it wrapped around your arm and tugged you forward.

“I mean, you’re pathetic!” To this, you frowned, but didn’t disagree. “No weapon, no way of protecting yourself. You died how many times?”

“To a flower, no less…!” You countered, but realized you weren’t doing yourself any favors by agreeing with him.

“It’s sad is what it is. You won’t make it any farther than the others did. I might even feel bad for you, actually, but I don’t, because I don’t feel anything anymore.”

“How come?” You couldn’t help but ask. Asking your consistent murderer a personal question didn’t seem so outlandish, considering it was a talking flower, and you couldn’t seem to die. Were you immortal now? Did you become a superhero or something?

He gave you a strange look, “That’s not really any of your business. It doesn’t matter anyway, none of it does, you’ll just die again and again. It’ll be fun to see, that sort of thing helps break up the monotony.” He grinned, giving you a nudge towards the doorway. “Go on!~ Your little adventure awaits!”

“W-wait!” Suddenly, the change left you even more terrified of what was to come beyond this room. If horrors like little talking demonic flowers existed, what else could be waiting in the beyond? You weren’t eager to stick around and endure more pain, but now finding yourself rushed proved to be nerve-wracking.

“Hm? Aw, what’s this? You’re a little scared, aren’t you? You’re afraid of leaving your dear old friend Flowey.” He laughed, his airy giggle turning into a darker tremble of laughter. “Oh, don’t you worry. You’ll see me around, I’m sure.~”

“W-well…it’s just that…I don’t understand any of what’s happening. Why do I keep waking up there? And why have things suddenly changed? Is this a nightmare…? Am I dreaming?”

The flower’s grin only widened in a perverse manner. He was quite obviously enjoying your immense confusion. “Oh, you’re going to be REALLY fun, I can tell already."

You didn't think any of this was going to be even remotely fun, but what other way was there to go? Forward, you guessed. Away from this flower, far away.

You just hoped there wasn't anything worse ahead.


End file.
